Office of Community
Oriented Policing Services
U.S. Department of Justice

For Immediate Release
April 20, 2006

CONTACT: Gilbert Moore
(202) 616-1728

POLICE RECRUITS WITH NON-TRADITIONAL QUALITIES MAKE BETTER OFFICERS

New Demands on Law Enforcement Officers Require Recruits to Have Strong
Aptitude for Serving the Community

Washington, DC - A U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS) report released today details the experiences of five
law enforcement agencies that have made sweeping changes in how they recruited
and hired new officers. The report suggests that recruits who are attracted to a
career in law enforcement based on their desire to serve and support communities
make better officers than recruits who are attracted to the profession in
pursuit of the type of adventure that is often associated with police work.

The findings are detailed in a new COPS publication titled, Innovations
in Police Recruitment and Hiring, which is available free of charge. The
studies were conducted at five law enforcement agencies that were competitively
selected to serve as demonstration sites for the federal agency's 'Hiring in the
Spirit of Service' project. The five sites range from departments that serve
relatively small homogeneous communities to those that serve large diverse
populations. The departments chosen as demonstration sites were: the Sacramento
Police Department (CA); the Burlington Police Department (VT); the Hillsborough
County Sheriff's Office (FL); the Detroit Police Department (MI); and the King
County Sheriff's Office (WA).

"As police departments struggle to hire quality candidates in a
competitive job market, recruiting and retaining good officers is an increasing
challenge for the nation's police and sheriff's departments," said COPS
Director Carl R. Peed. "There is little question that the quality of police
service is directly linked to the individual behavior of officers, and the
experiences of these law enforcement agencies indicate that recruits who have a
strong service orientation, solid interpersonal skills, and a predisposition
toward working with the community are better prepared to meet the demands placed
on today's law enforcement professional."

Innovations in Police Recruitment and Hiring is one of the many
resources that COPS offers to the law enforcement field and communities. The
publication can be obtained free of charge by contacting the COPS Response
Center at 800.421.6770. Copies of the publication can also be downloaded at www.cops.usdoj.gov.